This week, we head out toward the Pacific to check out the best D3 runners the West Coast has to offer.

Men’s Teams
In 2010, Willamette used their home course advantage at regionals to secure a two-point victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, but CMS turned the tables on their regional rivals at nationals with their 19th place finish. Willamette finished 63 points back in 23rd, and at-large squads Whitworth and Colorado College finished 28th and 30th, respectively. The men could get anywhere from zero to two at-large teams to nationals this year, so it will be interesting to see how well teams perform in the early season. Here’s five I think you should look out for:

5. La Verne
The Leopards return their entire top seven and are led by last year’s top freshman A.J. Licon. Junior Alex Forbess is a solid number two, but they will need lots of help from the rest of the squad if they have dreams of making the jump from seventh in the region to qualifying for nationals.

4. Colorado College
Two-time defending regional champ Jackson Brainerd will again lead the Tigers as he enters his senior season. They graduated two of their next best three, and though all-region runners Max Gerken and Michael Dougan should provide some support, Colorado College will be hard-pressed to return to nationals unless they can find some more depth. A return from David Wilder, their fourth finisher at nationals in 2009, would certainly help their chances.

3. Willamette
Last year’s regional champs lose three of their top seven going into 2011, including the top regional finisher at nationals and the region’s only XC All-American, Stefan Redfield. However, the Bearcats should have faith in two of the returning top five, Leo Castillo (30:38) and Ben Donovan (9:16), who both turned in solid track seasons as well. The key will be how Kevin Aubol performs. After a stellar eighth place finish at regionals, he faded at nationals and had a track seasonal best two minutes slower than that of Castillo’s. If he can return to form, though, this squad could be tough to beat.

2. Whitworth
Though the Pirates lose their top runner to graduation, they look poised to make a return trip to the national championship. The big question is whether last year’s eleventh place finisher, Kalen Darling, will return to use his final year of eligibility. With Darling, they will have five runners who finished in the top 40 at regionals last year. A solid core of Darling, Aaron Jenkins (31:23), Trevor Berrian (15:04), and Tyler Dudley (9:25) should lead the squad, and they will be quite dangerous if Mark Davis (or someone else) develops into a reliable fifth man.

1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
The top West region squad at nationals loses three of their top five, but the depth of the Stags ensures that they will, at the very least, contend for the regional title yet again. Led by the junior trio of Brian Sutter (3rd at regionals, 14:53), Rafer Dannenhauer (14:43), and Bennett Naden (9:19), CMS will hope to make up for their two-point loss at regionals last year. Behind those top three comes all-region runner Bryan Chow and junior Russell Page (31:44) who will both need to be solid if CMS wants to come away with that elusive regional title.

Men’s Individuals
Last year the region had one All-American (Stefan Redfield of Willamette), and he graduates. However, six of the top ten regional finishers return, including the two-time defending champ, so we should see some high-level performances from the region’s elite.

5. Aaron Jenkins (Whitworth)
After finishing ninth in the region in cross country, he went on to have a decently successful track season (31:23) and will need to be at the top of his game if his team wants to contend for a regional title.

4. Rafer Dannenhauer/Brian Sutter (CMS)
In his two years of collegiate competition, Dannenhauer has excelled on the track, and this sophomore season saw him cut a good 25 seconds off his 5k personal best (14:43).  To date, he has not had that same success in cross country, as he only finished 30th last year at regionals. Sutter is quite the opposite: his 5k personal best is ten seconds slower than that of Dannenhauer, but in cross country he was usually over thirty seconds ahead. This year I still expect Sutter to be CMS’s top runner, but I also expect Dannenhauer to be right behind him.

3. Leo Castillo (Willamette)
The region’s top returner from nationals was seventh last year at regionals and put together a stellar track campaign to earn himself a berth to nationals in the 10k (30:38). Though he faded to fifteenth in the championship race, there’s a lot to like about Castillo’s chances this cross country season.

2. Eric Kleinsasser (Occidental)
The Oxy senior finished fifth in the region last year, but his sophomore campaign was even more impressive: he finished second in the region and finished 35th at the national meet to take home an All-American certificate. He looks poised to return to his 2009 form after setting personal bests in the 5k (14:34) and 10k (30:25), making him the fastest returner in both events.

1. Jackson Brainerd
Brainerd has yet to prove his mettle at nationals in both cross country and track, but he is the two-time defending regional champ and deserves to top this list.  Though he is a miler come track season, his 14:41 5k mark shows he certainly has the endurance to match the region’s best, and his 3:51 personal best in the 1500 should frighten anyone who has plans of outkicking him. He certainly has his work cut out for him if he wants to complete the three-peat, but as of right now he has to be considered the favorite.

Women’s Teams
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ran away with the regional title last year, but finished only 20th at nationals and fell to rival Whitworth (17th). Whittier was awarded the region’s only at-large bid, and they finished 32nd. Despite last year’s relatively weak national showing, many top teams return most (if not all) of their runners, meaning the region should be substantially stronger this year. It will be interesting to see how many at-large bids are awarded—I could see anywhere from zero to two depending on how the season plays out.

5. Whitman
Despite the loss of 2010 frontrunner Kristen Ballinger, the Missionaries should again contest for a top five finish at regionals on their strength of their six returning varsity runners. Whitman is a long shot to make it to nationals, but returning all-region runner Emilie Gilbert will lead the way while teammates Eliza Vistica, Lori Mendelsohn, Jennifer Farley, and Sara Levy attempt to pack it up and surprise come November.

 4. Whitworth
Though Whitworth was the region’s top team at nationals last November and finished sixth in 2009, they graduate four of their top five and look to be entering a rebuilding phase. Number one runner Joy Shufeldt returns and should contend for a top five individual finish in the region, but she will need a lot of help if the Pirates plan on bringing their whole team to nationals.

3. Lewis and Clark
The Pioneers finished a mere six points behind nationals-qualifying Whittier, but they were not awarded an at-large bid. They return their entire top seven including last year’s individual qualifiers Emily Thomas and Illana Livstrom, who ran 17:50 and 18:15 this track season, respectively. Behind that duo comes a strong supporting cast, but they will have to continue to improve if they want to punch their ticket to nationals without leaving their fate in the hands of the selection committee.

2. Whittier
Led by fourteenth place finisher at nationals Michele Callaway, the Poets also return their entire top seven from last year’s team. Further, they appear to have found a way to close the minute-and-a-half gap between Callaway and their next finisher. Last year’s number two runner Christina Verduzco showed great improvement in the spring, highlighted by a solid 18:00 5k on the track. Still, Whittier will need Adrianne Davidek, Jamie Slingluff, and Eva Aguilar to keep pace with Verduzco if they want to threaten for the regional title.

1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Not only do last year’s regional champs match their challengers by returning their entire top seven, they add UCLA transfer and track season standout Laura Sauvage (17:14), who should provide a potent 1-2 punch with last year’s frontrunner and seventh place finisher at nationals, Jennifer Tavé. Behind that duo comes a ton of depth—including seniors Julia Rigby (18:25) and Breanna Deutsch (18:36)–that should propel the Athenas to another runaway regional title and a potential top ten finish at nationals.

Women’s Individuals
The West region’s strength is its elite women: last year three of the top fifteen finishers at nationals were from the West, and all three return. The regional meet should be a great battle and a preview of what is to come at nationals.

5. Joy Shufeldt (Whitworth)
After a stellar freshman campaign that saw her take home an All-American award from cross country nationals and qualify for nationals in the 10k outdoors (35:49), Shufeldt didn't quite match that same level of success this past year. She still finished 44th at cross country nationals and thrice broke 18 in the 5k, but if she wants to contend with the region's elite, she will have to be even better than she was as a freshman.

4. Lauren Sauvage (CMS)
A transfer from UCLA after the fall semester, the freshman put together a solid track season, culminating in a trip to nationals after her 17:15 qualifying performance. Though her race at nationals didn’t go perfectly, the experience will be valuable as she and her teammates prepare for a breakout season.

3. Michelle Callaway (Whittier)
Callaway has never excelled on the track, but she has finished in the region’s top five in cross country for the past three years, and I expect her senior campaign to be even better. After a fourteenth place finish at nationals, she went on to set personal bests in every event from the 800 on up. If that improvement carries on to the fall, she could finally get that elusive regional title.

2. Jennifer Tavé (CMS)
A seventh place finish at cross country nationals and an eighth place finish in the 10k are enough to convince me that Tavé will again be a contender. Though she was second last year, she was the region’s top finisher at nationals and showed some great endurance in the early spring (35:22, 17:15) before going on to garner All-American honors in the 10k.

1. Annie Lydens (Pomona-Pitzer)
The defending regional champ also was a top ten finisher at nationals in cross country, and she continued to improve into track season, where she posted a 5k personal best of 16:53.  Lydens came within a sprint finish of winning the 5k national championship, and has to be considered the favorite for the regional title as well as a threat to win the national one.

That's it for the West! Tune in next Tuesday for a look at the Great Lakes region.